NYT: Johnson & Johnson halts production of COVID vaccine at European plant

Johnson & Johnson has announced the halt to the production of a coronavirus vaccine at one of its factories located in the Dutch city of Leiden, writes The New York Times. According to the newspaper, this plant will produce a different, potentially more profitable vaccine that is not related to coronavirus prevention.

According to the source of the publication, the stop is temporary. It is assumed that after a pause of several months, the plant in Leiden will return to the production of a coronavirus vaccine.

At the same time, one source believes that due to this interruption, the decrease in the supply of the COVID vaccine will be several hundred million doses. Other enterprises were supposed to compensate for the retired capacities, but they either have not yet been launched or have not received the necessary permits.

The publication emphasizes that poor and developing countries that receive the drug under the COVAX program primarily depend on the supply of the vaccine. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is primarily supplied to countries in the African Union because it does not require storage at very low temperatures.

Ayoade Alakia, co-chair of the African Union’s Vaccine Delivery Program, told the newspaper, “Now is not the time to change production lines anywhere, when the lives of people throughout the developing world are hanging in the balance.” The company said the manufacturer is “focused on making the vaccine available where people need it” and that the global manufacturing network is “working day and night” to help fight the pandemic. A J&J spokesperson assured that the company has millions of finished doses of the drug in its warehouses.